If global warming is caused by humans then why...?

Question

does co2 make up less than 5 percent of the green house gasses and the rest are water vapor etc. The oceans make up 90 percent of the co2 being emmited, then vocanoes, then the human factor. Then why do scientists charts really suggest that the solar spots on the sun are what cause the temperature differences that occur on the planet. Is this a political issue??? Should we focus on not poisoning our atmosphere with toxic substance instead of smoke screen the political bandwagan with lies???????????

Answer 1

You're absolutely correct. There is no such thing as good CO2 or bad CO2. The amount of natural occuring CO2 from volcanos ect. render the amounts being produced by buring fossil fuels insignificant.

It is a political issue being advanced by anti-capitalist, anti-freedom zealots. They've run completely out of excuses for stripping humans of their dignity and freedom, so they've latched on to environmentalism and global warming. These provide a convenient excuse for elitist like Al Gore to regulate the behavior of the rest of us unwashed masses.

Its not about saving the planet its about conquering the planet and placing the everyday lives of all its inhabitants under the micromanagement of government regulators. Forcing us to adopt a hunter gatherer life style, living in grass huts and walking where ever we go. Meanwhile they jet across the globe in private planes, and sell themselves "carbon credits".

Answer 2

Not only are excessive amounts of co2 being emitted, but poisons are being released into the air that we, and living organisms breathe. The co2 that is emitted by volcanoes and oceans are naturally emitted and good for the environment considering that this is the way it has been done for billions of years. Since we humans add MORE than is needed this build up. We not only add co2 to the atmosphere but we also take the organisms that help level out the toxins in our air. So it's twice as bad. Don't be ignorant. Even if we are all wrong and seem as though we are running around with our heads chopped off, it'll do a lot of good to change the way we live and save energy and substances that we take from the earth.

what would it hurt?

Answer 3

sure. there is organic greenhouse gasoline warming, that's what makes the planet livable. the concern is 'are human beings increasing the temperature above its organic point'. the respond is sure. there is not any doubt approximately that. Nor could desire to we expect the rest given the extensive impacts we are making. it is not something to do with human beings respiratory, or respiratory.....that's merely recycling carbon interior the carbon cycle. It has no impact. Deniers and others intentionally use that for the time of an attempt to confuse the argument. the concern is human destruction of forests and different eco structures reducing the biosphere's potential to soak up carbon and of direction including the saved carbon in forests to the cycle plus the addition of carbon from fossil fuels that has no longer been portion of the cycle for many hundreds of thousands of years. that's those additions of in the previous excluded carbon that's increasing the carbon dioxide ranges interior the ambience and this contributes to AGW. If we take a seat decrease back and allow enterprise as standard we can be compounding the concern and pushing the planet to a element the place the fees to us would be huge. The Earth will survive of direction, yet human society as all of us recognize it won't. in spite of the indisputable fact that we are able to take action now to cut back the quantity of extra carbon we pump into the ecosystem and circumvent the worst consequences. each twelve months we put off will make the strikes required to circumvent disaster greater draconian and greater costly. the faster we act the better the transition. The coverage recommended by way of a few, of we could merely wait until we are able to needless to say see the concern, is one that dooms our young infants. Given the time delays interior the device, action now ends up in consequences 2 many years and greater later, that's going to be way too previous due

Answer 4

What better way to force people to change than to scare them with what's supposed to be happening now or the potential danger to the furture generations?

After the clean air act, the actual air is much cleaner than it was previously and there really isn't much of a reason to change our "habits".

I'm all for technology that leads to cheap, reliable, non-polluting energy and economies. I just feel that we are getting there just fine without the fear and guilt placed on us. That's why this in the new "boogie man" waiting out there to destroy us unless we immediately change our activities.

It's a shame to see so much time, effort and now resources devoted to something with no return. It will one day be determined to be a boondoggle of unprecedented magnitude, but it will be too late then to lay the blame where it belongs.

Answer 5

The oceans aren't gas--they are liquid. And they do not "emit 90% of the CO2." And sunspots hae zero to do with the amount of heat we get from the sun. Also--sceintists (real ones) spent most of the last 2 decades researching a variety of factors before reaching the conclusion that global warming is real, a threat, and caused by human action. There is nothing political about it. The only people trying to make it out to be a political, rather than a science, issue are special interests (e.g. the oil companies). I don't know where you are getting your infomation, but its simply wrong. Try reading through some of the information on (legitimate) science sites. Try nasa.gov for starters--they have excellant public education resources. Also livescience.com.

Answer 6

Great Q!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look up CFC, this is the real problem. causes CO2 depletion but is a very small % of atmospereic gasses. The problem is some have vested in GW w/o real study.

Answer 7

Agreed.

Sadly no one cares to conserve the environment b/c they'd all much rather drive around their death machines er.. SUV's.

Answer 8

you Can make any equation you like ,however some events are undeniable

some home truths

politicians and scientists who work for politicians have downplayed the facts because solutions are expensive and means change and change effects many people income,and most of the world is kept in the dark of the real things that are going on.

: i have seen lands that have been turned from jungle into desserts by people in a matter of a couple of years ,because of the slash and burn method used by settlers and expanding agriculture,and i have seen rivers dry up because of deforrestation in many places in Africa and Mexico ,

i live now by the side of a river in Mexico where,in 30 years 5 species of fish have become exstinct .
and part of the year the river is dry this is for longer every year because of over use of water by agriculture and as a result of deforrestation.

there are natural cycles in the planets life
but a lot is influenced by mans existance ,and this is increasing with overpopulation,putting strains on Natural resources and increasing contaminations as well as destructions of essential componants the ensure living conditions for all life forms

in North Africa,India,Mexico ,millions of people are effected by land loss and desertification


in recent times thousands of people have died because of exessive heat,usually old people.in India ,Mexico and France,
deforestation causing desertification,the desert conditions causing very cold nights and scorching hot days

in china, thousands of what used to be farmers are running for their lives from the dust storms that have burried their towns and turned their lands into dessert,the globe where they were got to hot for them .
and instead of producing food they are now needing it from some where else,and they will drastically effect the world food prices when they start buying water in the form of grains ,at any cost destabalising governments, in some countries ,could be the result
(are you seeing more Chinese around interested in agricultural lands ,we do here in Mexico)

,the Sahara is growing by 7 kilometers a year
and all of the desserts we know are a results of mans actions ,and they are increasing ,not getting less ,in the dinosaurs days ,there were no desserts.

collectively this planet is drying up because of bad farming practices like,over grazing and fertilizers,

as far as the food production is concerned, Global warming or some of its effects are serious,rising seas result in landloss

each degree rise in temperature means 10%crop loss

more landloss because of desertification every year,we have less areble land to produce food ,for an extra 70 million people ,

and there is less and less water (because of deforestation),to irrigate this production ,
and there are less and less farmers to do it..
who are overpumping deep carbon aquifiers
who are plowing more and more unstable lands because they have lost so many million hectares to desertification ,
because of bad farming practises ,such as using fertilizers and heavy machinary or over grazing

RISING SEAS
The northpole is melting ,and we will know it without ice in our life times.
this does not affect the sea level because it is ice that is already in the water.but the melting ice from Green land and the south pole ,are another matter.

Global warming is in theory reversable,but it will mean global co operation between all countries ,and taking into account human nature and the world politics ,it is unlikely that this will happen,

At least not untill we are all in the middle of planetary disastres and it becomes a battle for the survival of humanity every where.

SOLUTIONS
if you want to help the planet ,plant a tree every week ,if everyone on the planet did we we would be able to reverse the destructive processes

reduce carbon emisions,and they are already working on that by alternative forms of energy and regulations on carbon producing materials,aerosol cans,burning rubbish,industrial chimneys,powerplants etc.

the capture of carbon and the production of water and assist the aquiferous manta.

the world bank pays large subsidies for reforrestation to capture carbon and the best tree for this is the Pawlonia

Waterharvesting projects ,such as millions of small dams.to redirect over ground waterflows from the rains into the ground to supply subteranian water supplies.

the protection of existing forrests.

stop building more highways,urban planning to include vegetation stop building cities encourage people to return to the land to conduct their business from there which now has become possible thanks to the internet.

education to motivate people to auto sufficiency by building more home food gardens.

education on environmental awareness
education on family planning to curb over´populaion

Agricultural education and improvements to follow the principals or sustainability and soil management.

more environmental or land ,design to prevent bush fires,such as--fire breaks

,more dams.regulations and control for public behaviour

alternative effeciant public transport to discourage the use of the internal conbustion engine

recicling wastes,limit water use

i am a Permaculture Consultant for the department of Ecology for the regional government in Guerrero Mexico
http://spaces.msn.com/byderule

Source(s) Lester E Brown is the director and founder of the global institute of Environment in the United states .he has compiled a report based on all the satalite information available from NASA,and all the information that has
come from Universities and American embassies WORLD WIDE ,
his little book--a planet under stress , Plan B has been trans lated into 50 languages and won the best book award in 2003.

Answer 9

Hi Nicole,

Allow me to shed some light on the points you raised.
I'll answer your points briefly then post a more detailed article I've written which covers all the points you raised in more detail.

Water vapour is the primary greenhouse gas but unlike others such as carbon dioxide and methane it's not good at trapping heat. The levels of water vapour have also remained constant whereas there have been significant rises in the levels of other greenhouse gases.

Levels of CO2 vary, it makes up between 9 and 26% of the greenhouse gases.

The oceans are in equilibrium - they emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and they absorb large amounts, some 2 billion tons a year.

The one about volcanoes is an old myth, humans produce 150 times as much greenhouse gas per year as do all the volcanoes on the planet.

Solar spots have almost no bearing at all on short term climate, the difference between peak and trough activity is less than 0.1%. They have a bearing on long term climate - i.e. over thousands of years.

Global warming has been a political issue for 18 years, it's been a scientific issue for 111 years. Scientists have fought tooth and nail to get politicians to sit up and take notice.

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GLOBAL WARMING
===============

Section 1 – Introduction
Section 2 – Is global warming real?
Section 3 – An unprecedented rise in temperature
Section 4 – The causes of global warming
Section 5 – The effects of global warming
Section 6 – Looking to the future
Section 7 – Global warming confusion
Section 8 – Combating global warming
Section 9 – Some common questions
Section 10 – Appendix


1A - INTRODUCTION
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A lot of what you read and hear about global warming is rubbish. Both the pro and anti lobby are responsible for distorting the truth, taking things out of context, fabricating ‘evidence’ and blatant lies. There are compelling cases for and against global warming. In providing this answer I’ve avoided opinions and based it upon proven or accepted facts from both sides of the debate. Armed with the unbiased information I hope you can make your own informed decisions.


1B - A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS A DANGEROUS THING
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Many people have strong opinions about global warming / climate change but, with all due respect, most don’t know that much about it. For many, the media is the primary source of information but this tends to focus on the more newsworthy stories whilst ignoring the broader picture. It’s rather like taking a few pieces of a jigsaw and deciding what the completed picture looks like; it doesn’t help that the global warming picture has pieces missing from it anyway.

This response doesn’t provide all the pieces of the puzzle, it would be far too long and complicated, but it does focus on the key areas. All statements are backed up with citations and by following the links you can find a great deal more information.


1C - REFERENCES
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[C] – Citations, sources of info used. Listed in the appendix.
[D] – Definitions of certain words. Listed in the appendix.
[E] – More info on external sites. Links given in the appendix.
[S] – Supplementary information. More details in the appendix.


1D - AVOIDING CONFUSION
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People interpret ‘global warming’ differently and this can render answers invalid if they’re not addressing the issue raised. A common question such as ‘is global warming happening’ can illicit a ‘yes’ from one person and a ‘no’ from another person. Two conflicting answers, both could be correct depending how the question has been addressed.

The term ‘global warming’ is frequently used in respect of the effect human activities have on our climate; this is just one part of a larger picture. It’s useful to actually define some common terms [M1].

GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming is the process by which the world heats up; there are two key components – natural and manmade.

NATURAL GLOBAL WARMING
The earth goes through cycles spanning many thousands of years in which there is warming and cooling. These are explained in more detail later.

MANMADE GLOBAL WARMING
Anthropogenic (or manmade) global warming is the effect human activities have on the warming of the earth.

CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change refers to how the climate of the world is changing. It’s not the same as global warming. In a nutshell, global warming is the cause and climate change is the result.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Some people confuse weather with climate. Weather is what we experience everyday, it’s short term and localised. Climate is long term and on a worldwide scale.



2 – IS GLOBAL WARMING REAL
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SHORT ANSWER
We know the world is warming up, on this the scientists are agreed. The question isn’t so much whether the world is warming but what’s causing it, how much is attributable to natural causes and how much is attributable to human activity.

AS A NATURAL PHENOMENA
There’s no disputing that the world is warming up, this is a long established fact. Since the creation of Earth some 4.5 billion years ago there have been many warming and cooling cycles. Over the course of the last 18,000 years the world has been in a warming cycle and has heated up by approximately 9°C (16°F) [C3] this warming brought about the end of the last ice age [S2].

On a much larger time-scale the world is in a general cooling phase and has been for about 50 million years [C4], this in itself is part of a much larger cycle of long term cooling and warming [C5].

AS A MAN-MADE PHENOMENA
If there were no life on Earth it would still be warming. What we’ve seen in the last couple of hundred years is an unprecedented rise in temperatures [C6] as can be seen on these graphs http://whyfiles.org/218glo_warm/images/variations.jpg and http://www.globalwarmingart.com/images/c/c1/2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png

There is much controversy and debate surrounding mankind’s contribution to global warming and climate change. The IPCC [D4] has conducted the most detailed examination of climate change to date and concludes that human cause is ‘very likely’ (more than 90%) [C7] [M4].



3 - AN UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN TEMPERATURE
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EXPECTED RISE IN TEMPERATURES
During Earth’s current warming phase we’ve seen temperatures steadily rise by 9°C over the last 18,000 years [C3], a rise of one two thousandth of a degree Celsius per year (0.0005°C), this can be considered to be the natural rate at which the earth is warming.

THE 100 YEARS FROM 1905 TO 2005
In 1905 the average global temperature was 13.71°C, in 2005 it was 14.53°C [C8] [S3]
Expected natural increase 0.05°C
Actual increase 0.82°C
Average annual increase of 0.0082°C
Warming 16 times faster than expected

THE 50 YEARS FROM 1955 TO 2005
In 1955 the average global temperature was 13.98°C, in 2005 it was 14.53°C [C8] [S3]
Expected natural increase 0.025°C
Actual increase 0.55°C
Average annual increase of 0.011°C
Warming 22 times faster than expected

THE 25 YEARS FROM 1980 TO 2005
In 1980 the average global temperature was 14.14°C, in 2005 it was 14.53°C [C8] [S3]
Expected natural increase 0.0125°C
Actual increase 0.39°C
Average annual increase of 0.0195°C
Warming 39 times faster than expected



4 – THE CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING
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Global warming is the result of two contributory factors – the greenhouse effect and solar variation. Both are natural occurrences and cause Earth’s temperature to warm and cool. Since the Industrial Revolution [S4] the emissions of greenhouse gases has risen dramatically [C9] and there has been a corresponding rise in global temperatures [C10].


4A - GREENHOUSE EFFECT
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WHAT IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?
The atmosphere acts like a blanket trapping heat and keeping Earth at a habitable temperature, it’s this retaining of heat that is referred to as the Greenhouse Effect [M5]. The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases [M2] that trap heat from the sun, the more greenhouse gases there are the more heat is retained.


GREENHOUSE GASES - NATURAL
The primary natural greenhouse gases are water vapour (H20), carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO) and tetraflouromethane (CF4) [C1].

Water vapour is the largest component greenhouse gas and is almost entirely natural [S1] but it’s not very good at retaining heat. Most greenhouse gas is naturally occurring. Without any greenhouses gases our atmosphere would retain considerably less heat and Earth would be some 30°C colder [C2].

As with temperatures, there is a natural cycle in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Ice core samples extending back some 650,000 years [C12] show the minimum amount of atmospheric CO2 to have been around 190 ppmv [D2] and the maximum about 300 ppmv [C13]. The worry is that the current levels of CO2 are considerably higher at around 385 ppmv [C9]


GREENHOUSE GASES - ANTHROPOGENIC
The manmade greenhouse gases include the naturally occurring ones as well as synthetic gases consisting of carbon and halogens [D1]. The group of gases called chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) are perhaps the best known of these. Many of the manmade greenhouse gases are also responsible for ozone depletion [M3].


CHANGING LEVELS OF GREENHOUSE GASES
Excluding water vapour, the most influential greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide and methane, respectively these account for 99% and 0.5% of greenhouse gases [C11]. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution there has been a 31% increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and a 150% increase in the amount of methane [C14]. Although methane occurs in much smaller quantities it is far more effective at retaining heat and is responsible for between 4 and 9% of the greenhouse effect, CO2 is responsible for between 9 and 26% [C15].

The year on year trend is an increasing amount of CO2 deposited in the atmosphere from virtually nil 150 years ago to 2 billion tons a year 50 years ago to today’s level of around 7 billion tons a year [C12]. The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is around 385 ppmv and increasing [C9], this is the highest it’s been since the Cenozoic era some 60 million years ago [C17].

As the amount of greenhouse gas increases so does the temperature, the link between the two is a direct correlation [C18].


GREENHOUSE GASES - SOURCES
Three quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions for which humans are responsible result from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and much of the remainder results from farming and agricultural activities.

The largest contributors of all greenhouse gases are power generation (21.3%), manufacturing and other industrial processed (16.8%), fuel for transportation (14.0%), farming and agriculture (12.5%), extraction and processing of fossil fuels (11.3%), domestic and commercial use (10.3%), land use, deforestation and other biomass burning (10%) [C19].

Carbon dioxide accounts for 72% of all man-made greenhouse gases, methane 18% and nitrous oxide 9% - a total of 99% between them. Power generation and industry contribute just over half the total carbon dioxide emissions whereas farming and agriculture are the primary producers of methane (46.6%) and nitrous oxide (88.0%) [C19].

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons meaning they’re made up of carbon and hydrogen. When they’re burned they react with the oxygen in the air and the primary byproducts are water and carbon dioxide. These fuels are used in power generation, to heat homes and offices, to power factories, to drive our vehicles and many more uses.

Other manmade causes of greenhouse gases include deforestation [S5], fertilisers, air conditioning units, fridges and freezers, numerous industrial and chemical processes, fire suppressants, coal mining, effluent, landfill sites, livestock and rice cultivation [C20].

There are natural causes of greenhouse gases including volcanic activity, the seas and oceans, natural decay of plants and animals and the natural melting of ice caps.


4B – SOLAR VARIATION
Solar variations are changes in the amount of heat energy emitted from the sun and there are many reasons for this. The primary variation is caused by solar cycles, a pattern that repeats itself at 11 year intervals. However, the difference between the highest and lowest output is tiny, about 0.1% [C22] but it is enough to contribute to the warming of the planet. There are many other cycles that the sun goes through ranging from 22 years to several thousand years [C22]; there may be longer ones that haven’t yet been detected.

The heat energy received from the sun is 1366 W/m² (Watts per square metre) and it’s estimated that since 1750 this has increased by 0.3 W/m² whilst during the same time, anthropogenic global warming has contributed a further 2.4 W/m² [C23].

In the short term at least, solar variation has little effect on global warming and climate change. Over many thousands and millions of years the changes are significant and together with other astronomical factors [S6] can explain global warming and cooling cycles over periods of thousands of years.


4C – FEEDBACK OR COMPOUND PROCESS
Global warming is a self-perpetuating cycle. If we take melting ice as an example, as the ice melts it releases greenhouse gases from within the ice and trapped underneath the ice; the melting of Siberian permafrost is a good example of this [C21]. Further, as the ice melts it exposes the land beneath and forms melt-water lakes, both of which absorb more solar heat radiation than the ice did. The result of which is that the earth warms further causing more ice to melt and so the cycle continues.



5 - THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING
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The effects of global warming are wide ranging, some are quite apparent such as the melting of glaciers but others such as the shifting of deserts are subtler. There are both direct and indirect consequences, for example, warmer temperatures are a direct consequence whereas population migration is an indirect consequence.


EFFECTS ON WEATHER
An increase in the amount of precipitation, mainly because the hotter atmosphere will evaporate more water from the seas and oceans which subsequently falls as rain, snow etc [C24] [S7].

Hurricanes and storms will become more frequent, widespread and severe, in the last 30 years the proportion of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled [C25]. Once exclusively confined to the northern hemisphere there have recently been hurricanes in the southern hemisphere, most notably in Brazil. The leading edge over which hurricanes can strike has increased by 1600km (1000 miles) [C26].

During the same time span there has been a sharp rise in the number of extreme weather phenomenon. The changing weather has resulted in more storms, droughts, floods and heavier rainfall; these in turn cause erosion, famine, disease etc [C27].


DESERTIFICATION
Shifting weather patterns mean some areas receive less rainfall; the ground becomes barren and unable to sustain crops. In many parts of the world the layer of topsoil is both very thin and very poor. The dry, dusty soil is readily blown away and the area becomes desert. African and Asian countries are particularly hard hit [C28] [S8].


AGRICULTURAL IMPACT
For the reasons mentioned above there will be a major impact on agriculture. Rising sea levels (see below) will also impact resulting in the loss of large areas of agricultural land, the consequences of which will be population migration, famine and / or the need to import food from elsewhere. Again, it will be the African and Asian countries that are hardest hit with crop production falling by up to a third [C29].

Global warming can be a doubled edged sword. It has already resulted in the melting of a million square kilometres of Siberian permafrost, an area four times the size of the UK and covering the world’s largest peat bog [C21]. The melting has created land suitable for crops but at the same time has causing billions of tons of methane gas to be released from the peat, which in turn contributes to further global warming. A further consequence is the loss of over 1,000 lakes but the creation of many new ones [C30].


RISING SEA LEVELS
Sea levels are rising faster now than at any time since the melting of the glaciers that marked the end of the last ice age. As the glaciers melted sea levels rose by some 120 metres (400 feet) but for the last few thousand years sea levels have been almost constant rising only 10 centimetres (4 inches) per thousand years [C31] [M6].

Since the onset of global warming the seas have risen much faster. A hundred years ago they were rising by 1mm a year, today they are rising by 3mm a year and indications are that they will rise much quicker in the future [C32]. Sea levels are rising 30 times faster now than they were before industrialisation and the onset of global warming.

In some places the rate of rise is much more dramatic. The Sundarman Delta has seen levels rising by more than 30mm a year [C33], millions have already been forced to leave their homes [C34] and the Carteret Islands in the Pacific Ocean are currently being evacuated due to rising sea levels [C35] making this the first complete land mass to be lost to rising sea levels [S9].

It’s estimated that meltwater running off the Greenland ice sheet will in itself cause a rise of between 20 and 50mm a year [C36]. In time this will swamp cities including London, New York and Miami. Low lying areas such as Bangladesh, much of the European and American coasts and island groups including the Seychelles and Maldives would be submerged [C37].

The two main causes of sea level rises are the expansion of the world’s seas and oceans as they warm up and the melting of the ice caps.

The temperature of the seas and oceans are rising faster then ever [C38] and like anything that heats up, they’re expanding. At the same time ice sheets are melting and releasing water into the oceans.


MELTING OF ICE CAPS
The Arctic ice cap is floating; the mass of water it contains is already displacing an equal amount of seawater so even if it were to melt entirely there would be no change in sea levels.

However, Antarctica is a continent, a land mass, it isn’t floating and any melting here adds to the sea level as does melting of ice sheets and glaciers in places such as Greenland.

The edges of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are breaking off and collapsing into the sea. One of the biggest breaks occurred in 2002 when the Larsen B Ice Shelf broke off. This huge mass of ice covered 3250 square kilometres and weighed half a trillion tons [C39].


POPULATION MIGRATION
For the reasons mentioned in this section, large numbers of people are going to find it increasingly difficult to remain in their present locations and in many cases it will be impossible. In Bangladesh some 13 million people will be forced to move if the sea level rises by just one metre [C40] and in the US tens of millions will be affected particularly along the north east coast, Florida, Louisiana and California [C41]. Globally it is expected that hundreds of millions of people will need to relocate or emigrate [C42].


MARINE ENVIRONMENT
The world’s oceans absorb carbon dioxide, a little less than half the amount we have produced – about 150 billion tons in the last 200 years [C43] [S11]. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water to form carbonic acid and this is affecting the alkalinity of the oceans. Normally they have a pH of 8.3 [D3] but this has been reduced to 8.2 and is falling, it’s thought that by the end of the century the pH could drop to 7.7 [C82].

Many forms of marine life are highly sensitive to the level of alkalinity. The formation of corals is being affected and plankton, which forms the basis of the marine food chain, is also very sensitive.

The increasing levels of carbon dioxide make it harder for many species of fish and shellfish to breathe and reproduce. Changes in the ecology and chemistry of the seas and oceans reduce their ability to absorb CO2, which consequently increases the rate of global warming [C44].


ECOSYSTEMS
Global warming affects animals and plants as well as humans.

Parts of Antarctica are now covered in grass [C45] and there is a massive migration of animals towards the polar regions, these migrations extend an average of 6.1km further from the equator each decade [C46]. Butterflies have extended their territory by some 200km further north in Europe and North America [C42].

In the Arctic the habitat of polar bears and emperor penguins is being threatened. The waters of the Hudson Bay for example, are now ice free for three weeks more each year than they were 30 years ago. Polar bears are now starving because they need to venture onto the frozen ice to hunt food. In another 10 or 20 years there may no longer be polar bears in this region and within a hundred years they could be extinct [C47].

The ecosystems are interlinked, if one species is affected it will undoubtedly affect others which in turn will affect others. The enforced migration of one animal for example, may result in the starvation of another which in turn could have other knock on effects and so ad infinitum [S10].

The most extensive report into global warming and climate change predicts that up to 40% of animal species could become extinct due to global warming [C48].


MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS
Glaciers are recognised as one of the best indicators of climate change and in many parts of the world are melting faster than has been known before [C49]. In the last 100 years 50% of the world’s glaciers outside the polar regions have melted [C50]. The effects of glacial melt include flooding, landslides, avalanches and loss of habitat. In some mountainous regions melt water provides a year round water supply and without the glaciers there will be near drought conditions [C49, C51]

Glacial retreat is happening at an incredible rate in many parts of the world. In Greenland the Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier is retreating by 40 metres a day and will soon disappear altogether [C52]. Several other glaciers are retreating by 30 to 40 metres a day.


ECONOMY
The economic effect is staggering. Increased adverse weather in itself could cost 1% of the worldwide GDP [D5] and a temperature rise of 2 or 3°C would reduce global economic output by 3% [C53]. In percentage terms these aren’t very big numbers but in terms of dollars the cost runs into trillions.

Insurance premiums are rising in line with the increased number of claims. The Association of British Insurers notes a 100% rise in weather related claims in recent years and states that climate change is already seriously impacting on the insurance industry [C54].


OTHER EFFECTS
There are many other effects including disruption to transportation, loss of sea ports, forest fires, methane release from hydrates, the shutting down of the Gulf Stream, impact on development, the need for greater flood defences, spread of disease and drought. These and other concerns are addressed in the Wikipedia article ‘Effects of Global Warming’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warming .



6 - LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
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By analysing historical weather and climate patterns it’s possible to make predictions about what the future has in store. This isn’t an exact science as many factors need to be taken into consideration and different prediction models produce different results.

The biggest report into climate change and global warming was conducted by the IPCC [D4] and concluded that temperature rises of between 1.8°C and 4.0° should be expected by the end of the 21st century [C62]. Many other organisation have conducted similar results with expected rises over the same period of between 2.2°C and 4.8°C with most predicting rises in the range of 2 to 3°C [C63].


HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
In 2007 one person is dying every three minutes as a result of global warming, this figure is expected to double by 2020 [C55]. The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that rising temperatures will result in an additional 300,000 deaths and 10 million illnesses a year by 2030 [C71]. This is in addition to the tens of millions of additional cases of malaria that the WHO expects to see [C72].


ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
A quarter of the species of animals and plants could be extinct by 2050 [C56]. More than three million square kilometres of Arctic sea ice has melted threatening the habitat of polar bears, experts predict that their numbers will ‘plummet’ [C57]; the survival of grizzly bears is also threatened [C58]. Other species that are threatened include penguin, turtle, caribou, walrus, plankton, krill, whale, crab and seal [C59].


ADVERSE WEATHER
In recent years there has been an 80% increase in the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes. Along with cyclones, tornados and other storms the frequency looks set to keep increasing [C61]. The UK Met Office predicts a nine-fold increase in the extent of flooding within the next 50 years [C60].

In 2003 a heatwave in Europe, one of many in recent years, claimed up to 50,000 lives [C64], predictions are that the annual number of heat related deaths will increase significantly [C65].


DROUGHT AND FAMINE
The heat is likely to greatly increase the number of forest fires, reduce timber production, impact on agricultural land and lead to more insect infestation which in turn impacts on crop production and human health [C66].

Rising temperatures have a huge impact on food production, a 1°C rise equates to a 10% loss in grain production, areas already facing food shortages will be hardest hit [73]. Warmer temperatures create severe drought conditions; billions of people will be affected by contaminated water, a lack of water or both [74], in China and south east Asia alone hundreds of millions will be affected [75].


RISING SEA LEVELS
Rising sea levels have already impacted hard on many island and coastal communities including the forced evacuation of their populations. Areas affected include Kenya, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Maldives, Antigua and Bermuda [C67]. Sea levels have been rising for some time [C68] and predictions indicate further rises of between 200 and 600mm by the end of the century [C69]. In the US this would affect many coastal regions especially the coastlines of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, cities affected would include Boston, New York, Charleston, Miami and New Orleans [C70].


OTHER EFFECTS
The effects are wide ranging, some are already happening and are expected to get worse, others are likely to happen with the severity dependent on how much the earth’s global temperature rises by.

Some of the other impacts of global warming include: arctic warming, increased power outages, marine food chain disruption, changes to bird migration patterns, more wildfires, erosion, desertification, disappearing beaches, damage to tundra regions, impact on ozone layer, insect infestation, threat to boreal forests, coastal erosion, threat to mountain environments, loss of wetland and marshland habitats, decline in bird population, thawing of permafrost, increased acidity of oceans, release of further greenhouse gases, increased allergens (asthma etc), coral destruction and bleaching, loss of ocean conveyor belts (Gulf Stream) etc, loss of Arctic sea ice, impact on winter sports [C76].



7 – GLOBAL WARMING CONFUSION
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There’s a lot of confusion surrounding global warming and it can sometimes be hard to separate fact from fiction, evidence from fabrication, truth from lie. Some people say the world is warming up, some say it’s not and some say it’s cooling down – who do you believe?

Below I’ve addressed some of the most common errors people make when discussing global warming.


GLOBAL WARMING ISN’T HAPPENING
Claim: There’s no such thing as global warming.
Explanation: I suspect when someone says this what they actually mean is that they don’t believe mankind has contributed to global warming. There’s no dispute that global warming is real. There is dispute as to how much of the current warming can be attributed to human activities and the consensus is that the current warming is ‘very likely’ due to human activities [C7].


SUNSPOT ACTIVITY
Claim: Global warming is caused by sunspot activity.
Explanation: Sunspots occur in an 11 year cycle whereas global warming has been happening for 150 years or more. Sunspot activity does cool and warm the earth (and other planets) but by a very small amount. The difference between the minimum and maximum output of heat from the sun is just 0.07% [C78].


SOLAR ACTIVITY
Claim: Global warming is the result of solar activity.
Explanation: Solar activity is a contributing factor but even at it’s most extreme it only contributes a small proportion to the total warming. Over a period of thousands of years it can have a significant effect (both warming and cooling) but the rise in global temperatures in the last 200 years far exceeds anything possible from solar activity. See section 4B for more info.


THE EARTH IS NEARER THE SUN
Claim: Global warming is caused because the earth is nearer the sun than it used to be.
Explanation: The earth moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun, at certain times of the year it’s closer to the sun but then moves away again; this is a seasonal variation. The earth is actually moving ever so slightly further from the sun [C81].


MELTING ICE CAPS 1
Claim: The ice caps are floating; when they melt they’re not adding to the water already in the oceans.
Explanation: The Arctic ice cap is floating; when it melts sea levels are unaffected. The Antarctic ice cap isn’t floating so any melting here adds to the water in the seas and oceans. See ‘Rising Sea Levels’ in section 5 for more details.


MELTING ICE CAPS 2
Claim: Ice is less dense than water, if it melts the sea level will fall.
Explanation: Ice is indeed less dense than water (water has a mass 1.000 g/cm³, ice is about 0.920 g/cm³) [83]. The ice displaces water equivalent to it’s own mass, when floating ice melts it has no effect on the water level – it’s not the amount of water that’s changed just the amount of space it occupies. See also Melting Ice Caps 1 (above).


ORBITAL VARIATION
Claim: Changes in the earths orbit are the cause of global warming.
Explanation: What’s been referred to here is the Milankovitch Cycle, this relates to the way the earth ‘wobbles’. Rather like a spinning top it wobbles slightly up and down (precession), wobbles slightly on it’s axis (axial tilt) and wobbles in its orbit around the sun (eccentricity). These cycles occur over tens of thousands of years and can be mathematically predicted with extreme accuracy. Such movements do contribute to global warming and cooling but over very long periods of time [C84].


GLOBAL COOLING
Claim: Scientists use to tell us the world was cooling; now they say it’s warming. They don’t know what they’re talking about.
Explanation: In the 1970’s some scientists were studying the Milankovitch Cycle and accurately predicted that it would cause the world to cool down (which it will – see Orbital Variation above). The scientists didn’t come together and say that the world was cooling. In fact, what the scientists said about global cooling was actually correct [C85].


VOLCANOES 1
Claim: Volcanoes cause global warming.
Explanation: Volcanoes actually cause global cooling. The massive quantities of volcanic ash and dust that are ejected into the atmosphere block sunlight and cause the earth to cool [C86]. After the huge eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 the earth cooled by 0.5°C, as the dust settled over the next few years the cooling effect lessened.


VOLCANOES 2
Claim: Volcanoes produce more greenhouse gases in a year than mankind does in x number of years (x varies but is often 100).
Explanation: Man puts 150 times the amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year than do all the volcanoes on Earth [C87].


GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY
Claim: Global warming is nothing but a government conspiracy
Explanation: Global warming has been around far longer than it has been a political issue. Carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse effect and global warming have been known about within the scientific community since 1896 [C88]. It wasn’t until 93 years later when, in November 1989, Lady Thatcher the Prime Minister of the UK addressed a United Nations convention and put global warming on the political agenda [C89].


THERE’S NO SIGN OF GLOBAL WARMING HERE
Claim: If global warming is real then why is it so cold, why is there so much snow here...
Explanation: Weather and global warming are two very different things. Weather is local and short term whereas climate change is global and long term. As has been established in section 3, the recent rise in global temperatures has been about 0.02°C a year; on a year-by-year basis this will have very little effect on the weather. There will continue to be snow and cold weather for millennia to come.


EXCUSE FOR RAISING TAXES
Claim: Global warming is just an excuse to raise taxes.
Explanation: Undoubtedly some governments will use global warming and climate change as a reason for increasing taxes and imposing new ones. In some cases these may be justified to offset the costs of global warming (see Economy in section 5). See also Government Conspiracy above.


WEATHER FORECASTS
Claim: Scientists can’t even predict the weather, how can they predict global warming.
Explanation: Weather and climate are both very complicated but they’re two different things. Weather forecasts can predict it will be raining or will be sunny tomorrow and much of the time they’re right. Climate tells us that it will be warmer in summer than in winter or that Monsoon rains will fall in India. We know these things from studying historical weather records; these show trends that allow climate forecasts to be made. Predicting the effects of global warming uses the same principles


PETITION AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING
Claim: Large numbers of scientists (it varies from hundreds to tens of thousands) have signed a petition against global warming.
Explanation: There are two well known such petitions, one is the Leipzig Declaration and the other is ‘Oregon Petition’, both have been widely discredited. Øjvind Hesselager, a Danish broadcaster examined the credentials of the signatories to the Leipzig Declaration and concluded “only 20 of the names on the list had any scientific connection with the study of climate change, and some of those names were known to have obtained grants from the oil and fuel industry” [C90].

The Oregon Petition has some 19,700 signatories of which 17,800 are ‘verified’. There are serious concerns about the way in which the signatures were acquired. One examination of the petition by Scientific American found that many of the names were not of scientists, of those that were scientists some had never heard of the petition, of those who originally signed a significant number stated they wouldn’t sign again [C91]. The man behind the petition is Professor Frederick Seitz, an oil executive previously employed by R J Reynolds Tobacco to counter claims that smoking was harmful [C92].


WARMING ON MARS
Claim: Mars is warming which proves global warming is a natural effect of the sun.
Explanation: This has been mentioned several times of late and stems from a NASA report entitled ‘Mars is Melting’ [C93]. The report states “The polar cap is receding because the springtime sun is shining on it” and goes on to explain how the seasons on Mars cause the polar ice caps to melt and reform. Global warming isn’t once mentioned in the article.



8 - COMBATING GLOBAL WARMING
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Yet to be written



9 - SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
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WILL WE ALL DIE BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING?
Certainly not in the short term. The very worst case scenario is a global temperature rise of 11°C in the next couple of hundred years with some places locally experiencing a 20°C rise [C77 or C78]. This would have massive implications and at least half of the world’s population would have to relocate to areas where the heat was tolerable, water was available and crops could be grown. This is extremely unlikely and the most detailed report into climate change predicts rises of between 1.8 and 4.0°C in the next hundred years [C62].


WILL GLOBAL WARMING LEAD TO WARS?
This is a possibility but it seems unlikely. As land, energy resources, water and other resources become scarcer some countries may resort to extreme measures, such as invasion, in an attempt to obtain them. Some countries may develop a nuclear capability in order to defend themselves. A secret US defence report suggests that war and anarchy could be a result of global warming [C79]. At the time of the report the US was one of the only countries in the world that still denied global warming, it now accepts


WHY DOES THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION DENY GW?
It no longer does after having done a U-turn in the 2007 State of the Union address [C80]. The reasons for performing a U-turn are a political issue and a different matter altogether.



10 - APPENDIX
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Further information including the sources used in compiling this article. Some of the links below are to PDF files, most computers will open these, if not you will need to download the free Adobe Reader (http://www.adobe.com/)


10A - CITATIONS
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[C1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_list_of_greenhouse_gases
[C2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect
[C3] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Ice_Age_Temperature_Rev_png
[C4] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:65_Myr_Climate_Change_Rev_png
[C5] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Phanerozoic_Climate_Change_Rev_png
[C6] http://whyfiles.org/218glo_warm/
[C7] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6321351.stm
[C8] http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/Temp/2006Temp_data.htm
[C9] http://www.bom.gov.au/info/climate/change/gallery/25.shtml
[C10] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:1000_Year_Temperature_Comparison_png
[C11] http://cdiac.ornl.gov/pns/current_ghg.html
[C12] http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/11/24/national/w135801S21.DTL
[C13] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Carbon_Dioxide_400kyr_Rev_png
[C14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#Increase_of_greenhouse_gases
[C15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
[C16] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Global_Carbon_Emission_by_Type_png
[C17] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v406/n6797/abs/406695a0.html
[C18] http://www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/current2.html
[C19a] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Greenhouse_Gas_by_Sector_png
[C19b] http://www.mnp.nl/edgar/model/v32ft2000edgar/
[C20] http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/ishappening/sources/index.html
[C21] http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1546824,00.html
[C22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_variation
[C23] http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/fig6-6.htm
[C24] http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/008.htm
[C25] ftp://texmex.mit.edu/pub/emanuel/PAPERS/NATURE03906.pdf (PDF file)
[C26] http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4688_133/ai_n6157847
[C27] http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/webprintview/ActionsIndustryInsurance.html
[C28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification
[C29] http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1517935,00.html
[C30] http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1503170,00.html
[C31] http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/425.htm
[C32] http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/426.htm
[C33] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3102948.stm
[C34] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5344002.stm
[C35] http://web.mac.com/pipstarr/iWeb/starr.tv/Climate/1389EF06-0A02-4BC3-A039-AD98E7B4E4DF.html
[C36] http://www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/climate_change_and_sea_level.htm
[C37] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_greenlandicemelt.html
[C38] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5558/1275?ijkey=nFvdOLNYlMNZU&keytype=ref&siteid=sci
[C39] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1880566.stm
[C40] http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/rising-seas.html
[C41] http://www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/sea_level_rise/sea_level_rise.htm
[C42] http://sun1.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/nhedinst/NATURE_416_389-395_2002.pdf (PDF file)
[C43] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5682/367
[C44] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4633681.stm
[C45] http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=5014&method=full
[C46] http://www.animana.org/tab2/22refugespeciesfeelingtheheat.shtml
[C47] http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n01/byer01_.html
[C48] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/30_10_06_exec_sum.pdf (PDF file)
[C49] http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/
[C50] http://www.munichre.com/
[C51] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7066/full/nature04141.html (subscription required)
[C52] http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/fm05-sessions/fm05_C41A.html
[C53] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6096594.stm
[C54] http://www.abi.org.uk/Display/File/364/SP_Climate_Change5.pdf (PDF file)
[C55] http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/22420/story.htm
[C56] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3375447.stm
[C57] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070601899.html
[C58] http://www.y2y.net/grizzly/modelling.asp
[C59] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm
[C60] http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/hadleycentre/models/modeldata.html
[C61] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5742/1844/
[C62] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6324029.stm
[C63] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Global_Warming_Predictions_png
[C64] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Heat_Wave_of_2003
[C65] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm#Waves
[C66] http://www.ogc.doc.gov/ogc/legreg/testimon/106s/karl0718.htm
[C67] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm#States
[C68] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Recent_Sea_Level_Rise_png
[C69] http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Sea_Level_Projections_png
[C70] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm#cities
[C71] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111602197.html
[C72] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm#Diseases
[C73] http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2001/2001-01-22-02.asp
[C74] http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/pdf/chap4.pdf (large PDF file)
[C75] http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1322814.htm
[C76] http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_tht.htm
[C77a] http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050124/full/050124-10.html (subscription required)
[C77b] http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0127-01.htm
[C78] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot
[C79] http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html
[C80] http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/index.html
[C81] http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=317
[C82] http://web.archive.org/web/20050223042051/http://www.risingtide.nl/greenpepper/envracism/refugees.html
[C83] http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/122Adensityice.html
[C84] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles
[C85] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15391426/site/newsweek/
[C86] http://www.cmar.csiro.au/e-print/open/greenhouse_2000e.htm
[C87] http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/Gases/man.html
[C88] http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/381_FactSheet_globalwarming_timeline.pdf (PDF File)
[C89] http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1517966,00.html
[C90] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_Declaration
[C91] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Petition
[C91] http://www.dpeaflcio.org/programs/analyses/2002_sci_eng.htm
[C92] http://www.ecosyn.us/adti/Seitz_Tobacco_Crimes.html
[C93] http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/07aug_southpole.htm


10B - DEFINITIONS
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[D1] Halogens: A group of non-metallic elements (group 17 in the periodic table) consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), Iodine (I) and Astatine (At). A sixth halogen, ununseptium (Uus) has yet to be discovered.

[D2] PPMV: Parts Per Million by Volume.

[D3] pH: Stands for per Hydrogen, it is a measure of acidity and alkalinity on a scale of 0 to 14. Seven is neutral, the closer to zero the more acidic and the closer to 14 the more alkaline.

[D4] IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes, established by the World Meteorological Office and the United Nations Environment Programme.

[D5] GDP: Gross Domestic Product: the total annual value of all goods and services produced by a country.


10C - MORE INFORMATION
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[M1] Terminology: http://www.climatechangecentral.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=849

[M2] Greenhouse Gases: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas

[M3] Ozone Depletion: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/

[M4] IPCC Key Findings: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6324029.stm Detailed report http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf (PDF file)

[M5] Greenhouse Effect: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/04/climate_change/html/greenhouse.stm

[M6] Rising Sea Levels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Holocene_Sea_Level.png and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Recent_Sea_Level_Rise.png


10D - SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
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[S1] Water Vapour: The temperature of the earth largely determines the amount of water vapour; in hot tropical regions the air is damp and humid whereas in colder polar regions the air is dry. As the earth warms and cools levels of water vapour vary significantly. In the context of global warming and cooling water vapour has a compounding effect, a sort of catch 22 situation – warmer/cooler air means more/less water vapour which in turn leads to greater warming/cooling.

[S2] Ice Age: Technically we’re still in an ice age and will be until the polar ice caps melt.

[S3] Data Ranges: The figure for 1905 is the average from 1900 to 1910 (subject year ±5), the figure for 1955 is the average from 1950 to 1960 (subject year ±5), the figure for 1980 is the average from 1975 to 1985 (subject year ±5), the figure for 2005 is the average from 1996 to 2005 (10 years up to and including subject year).

[S4] Industrial Revolution: Started in England in about 1760, spread to Western Europe by about 1800 and throughout the world by about 1850. Saw a dramatic change in living and working practices from small-scale localised industry and farming to large-scale production, factories and intensive agriculture.

[S5} Deforestation: The clearing of forests either for timber extraction or creation of agricultural or building land. Trees (and other flora) absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, when they’re felled this process stops and the carbon in the trees is released when they decay or are burned.

[S6] Other Astronomical Factors: Over periods of thousands of years the earth goes through cycles. Sometimes for example, it leans more towards the sun and other times it leans away from the sun. Although these changes are small (less then a 3° variation from the norm) they affect the way the earth is heated by the sun.

[S7] Global Dimming: This is another factor affecting precipitation and one which should be taken into account, it is explained here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/dimming_prog_summary.shtml

[S8] Desertification: Global warming is a contributory factor; there are other factors that exacerbate desertification.

[S9] Cartaret Islands: The sinking of the islands is thought to be caused by global warming but there have been other theories put forward including the movement of tectonic plates and the dynamiting of coral reefs. More info... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carteret_Islands

[S10] The effects on ecosystems were studied by Nature and the summary findings published by various organisations. A summary can be downloaded from Stanford University in PDF format http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20115/naturefingerprints.pdf (PDF file).

[S11] Oceans as carbon sinks: The amount of CO2 we are emitting is greater than at any other time and the proportion absorbed by the oceans is much smaller.


10E - VIDEOS
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Threat to species: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june04/climate_5-20.html# (8 mins)
Panorama: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/programmes/panorama/default.stm (60 mins)
Eight short films about climate change: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/climate-shorts.shtml (only available in the UK) (approx 4 mins each)
Leonardo DiCaprio Video: http://www.leonardodicaprio.org/whatsimportant/globalwarming_movie01.htm (10 mins)
G W Bush (Will Ferrell) on Global Warming http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7408504973132978571&q=label%3A%22global+warming%22 (4 mins)
The Great Global Warming Swindle: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9005566792811497638&q=label%3A%22global+warming%22 (1 hour 16 mins)
Al Gore on global warming http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7408504973132978571&q=label%3A%22global+warming%22 (1 hour 20 mins)
Global warming 50 years ago http://dabble.com/node/7990034 (2 mins)
An Inconvenient Truth (order for free) http://sharethetruth.us/free/
An Inconvenient Truth Trailer http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_classics/aninconvenienttruth/trailer/ (4 mins)


10F – WIKIPEDIA LINKS
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Climate Change: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
Effects of Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warming
Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming
Global Warming Controversy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_controversy
Mitigation of Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitigation_of_global_warming
Greenhouse Effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect
Greenhouse Gas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
Scientific Opinion on Climate Change: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change
Adaptation to Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation_to_global_warming
Politics of Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_global_warming
Economics of Global Warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_global_warming


10G – NOTES
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Written March 2007. Version 1.1. Feedback and comments welcome (use e-mail link in profile). © 2007. Reproduction in part or whole permitted by prior approval only.